The discounts are part of what is termed "Cyber Monday" by
retailer network Shop.org. It is meant to mark the start of the
online holiday shopping season, when consumers log on at work
to search for gifts they did not find over the Thanksgiving
weekend.

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But "Cyber Monday" is typically not the biggest online
shopping day of the season, and this year, retailers did not
wait until after Thanksgiving to make a cyber push.

Retailers began posting online discounts Thanksgiving day,
and some so-called "Cyber Monday" sales started on Sunday or
will extend until Friday.

Walmart.com is offering special prices online for 150 items
this week -- three times more than a year ago -- posting
roughly 65 discounts on Monday and then adding new deals to the
site daily through Friday.

Best Buy began "Cyber Monday" deals on Sunday and will
offer special prices through Monday.

The deals come as retailers are worried that shoppers,
squeezed by the slowing U.S. housing market, higher food and
fuel costs, and the credit market crunch have cut their holiday
spending plans, and that worry may have been affirmed over the
Thanksgiving shopping weekend.

While deep discounts and extended hours drew more than 147
million shoppers to U.S. stores, average consumer spending
fell, according to a National Retail Federation survey that
included data from Thursday to Saturday and projections for
Sunday.

The survey found that customers spent an average of
$347.44, down 3.5 percent from $360.15 last year.

That has retailers relying heavily on their Web sites to
offer special deals or advertise their holiday discounts.

According to a Shop.org/Shopzilla eHoliday Survey, 72.2
percent of online retailers are planning a special promotion
for Monday, up from 42.7 percent two years ago.

Promotions will range from specific deals, to one-day
sales, to free shipping on all purchases, the survey found.

Walmart.com said it saw a surge in online traffic on
Thanksgiving day, attracting roughly 10 million visitors -- a
significant jump from its typical traffic of 2 million daily
visits during other times of the year.

Walmart.com said sales were up more than 40 percent on
Thanksgiving, compared with a year ago.